


III - Answer?

by enkelimagnus



Series: PurimGifts 2021 [3]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Gen, Still an alternate version of how Ziva joins the team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29634816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enkelimagnus/pseuds/enkelimagnus
Summary: With a lot to think about, Ziva goes home.
Relationships: Ziva David & Jethro Gibbs, Ziva David & NCIS MCRT Team
Series: PurimGifts 2021 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2177448
Kudos: 2
Collections: Purimgifts 2021





	III - Answer?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ariestess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariestess/gifts).



> I really hope these were fun for you!! I had a great time writing them!
> 
> The art with this fic is a Ziva/Gibbs shippy moodboard, unrelated to the content of the ficlet!

With her fingers still feeling the metal of her mezuzah, the door to Ziva’s apartment slammed behind her. 

There was so much to think about. The offer she’d been given was interesting, but she didn’t know if she wanted to change allegiance like this. She liked Gibbs and his team, and, except for tonight, every time she’d been in contact with them had been good. 

She enjoyed working with them. And they did offer very good protection. But it was a major step to take. 

She put down her coat and took off her shoes in the entrance. She was so tired. She pulled up her arms to stretch out her shoulders and arms and started her way to the bathroom. She wasn’t going to sleep well, not with the amount of life-altering decision-making in her future. 

She had been in Washington for a couple of years, and she liked life here enough. She liked the food. She liked the music. She missed Israel’s weather and the ease of practicing her traditions there, but she could probably make a home here. 

After all, she didn’t have a reason to go back home. Her father wasn’t exactly family, and her brother was dead. He’d been dead for over a year now. She’d stopped seeing him in her dreams every night. Now it was only once every couple of weeks. She was glad he was slowly fading away.

Being close to Gibbs and NCIS meant closer to possible leaks about what she’d done. It was a good way to protect herself. If Mossad came to investigate, they’d first make sure she was not getting wind of the investigation. Then, they’d stop by Gibbs’ place. She was better off if she was in NCIS. They would tell her. At least, she hoped so. 

And she liked Gibbs. She really did. She wasn’t supposed to consider her personal feelings in this, she was supposed to make sure where she ended up was the right place but… she wanted to be around Gibbs, DiNozzo, McGee, and even Abby Sciuto. They were a good team, the kind you saw in tv shows. The ones that were like little families. 

She’d never had that. Even with Michael and Eschel and sometimes even Ari. They might have been her blood, her lover, her friend, but they’d never been her family. 

Would they let her in the small NCIS family? Would they care for her, have her back, like she wished her teammates actually had? There was only one way she would have the answer to that question, and she knew it. 

She grabbed the leftover arayes pita from the fridge and put it in the microwave. The place she’d gotten it from had a recipe very similar to her mother’s. She was pretty sure they’d been from the same place in Israel than her mother had been. 

She ended up putting on the tv as she ate her leftovers and drank a beer. Late night programming with mediocre jokes was on, and she let it drone in the background of her thoughts. It was nice enough background noise.

This could be her life for a long time. America and NCIS. American beers, but drank at the bar where she knew the agents from NCIS sometimes went after a good case. Like friends, real friends. 

She finished eating quickly and grabbed her coat and shoes again. 

She hadn’t been to Gibbs’ place since the night of Ari’s death, but she remembered the road very well. 

She parked in front of the neighboring house. It was just past 1am. She was tired, but this was the right place for her to be. 

The door was still open. It always was. She never understood why. It had been useful last time, but she still wished her potential superior implemented better home security practices. She let her footsteps resound in the corridor, and then opened the door to the basement loudly. She wasn’t there to catch anyone by surprise. 

The repetitive noise of sanding paper on wood was the only thing she could hear in the room. She stood at the top of the stairs for a moment, looking down at the scene of Gibbs, hunched over the still somewhat rough wood of an unfinished ship’s carcass.

“You gonna come down, David?” Gibbs called out, not even looking up. 

Ziva smiled softly. Yeah. She wanted to be part of this. She wanted this in her life, long term. She started walking down the stairs. 

“I’m guessing you took a decision,” Gibbs pointed out as she reached him. 

Ziva chuckled. “I’m here, am I not?” She raised an eyebrow. “I could be halfway to Tel Aviv by now.” 

“And yet you’re in my basement,” Gibbs nodded, grabbing two somewhat-clean mugs and a bottle of some amber-colored alcohol Ziva couldn’t identify right then. 

“That’s your answer.” 

Gibbs looked up at her family, nodding. There was a smile on his face, the kind Ziva didn’t see often. She felt warmth bloom in her chest.

“Welcome to the team, Ziva.” 


End file.
